Mobile Payment Scams

Online payment apps are highly convenient and trusted in many places, but can also be a part of the scammer’s toolbox.

Who Is It Targeting: Online payment app users

What Is It: A spoofed payment that doesn’t exist, OR a reversed payment after you approve the transaction.

What Are They After: There are a lot of options when it comes to sending and receiving money online. Some of the industry names like PayPal are very well-known and widely used, but there are other smaller services that still have a strong customer base.

One scam that has been uncovered recently relies on the app Venmo. This one has manifested a couple of different ways, such as in a strange email that’s made to look like a genuine Venmo email. Another is the fact that the money appears in your account as a transaction before the funds actually arrive; if you sold a product online, for example, and shipped it due to receiving the transaction email, a scammer can still cancel the payment once he receives the shipping confirmation from you.

How Can You Avoid It:

If you rely on online payment sites, make sure you’re following the company’s rules in order to protect yourself.

Never ship an item simply based on an email; check your account to be sure the funds have processed before you send.

If you receive a strange email from a payment site, don’t click any links or attachments just in case it’s been spoofed and contains viruses. Go to the website or app directly and verify the information there.